What to Do About Abomasal Impaction in Deer? A Detailed Guide to Surgical Treatment
Deer abomasal impaction is caused by feeding tough, coarse-fiber-rich feed or insufficient drinking water, among other reasons, which leads to an indigestible coarse fiber mass blocking the pylorus of the abomasum, causing the deer to stop eating and eventually die of exhaustion.
1 Symptoms
The deer is in good body condition, suddenly loses its appetite completely, stops defecating, grinds its teeth, and has abdominal bloating; in the later stage it only drinks water and sometimes shows abdominal pain. On abdominal palpation, a hard object of varying size can be felt at the abomasum, and in severe cases it fills the entire abomasum.
2 Materials and methods for surgical treatment
2.1 Drugs and equipment
Xylazine (Miannaining), Su Xing Ling (arousal agent), penicillin-streptomycin, glucose, scalpel, scissors, hemostatic forceps, tweezers, gauze, suture needles, sutures.
2.2 Steps
2.2.1 Make an incision on the right side 5 cm from the last rib, parallel to the rib, 20-25 cm long.
2.2.2 Cut through the skin in one stroke and separate the subcutaneous tissue, then cut through the external oblique muscle layer by layer, bluntly separate the internal oblique muscle and transverse abdominal muscle, and expose the peritoneum.
2.2.3 Make an incision in the peritoneum, place saline-soaked gauze on both sides of the incision edge, use retractors for traction, and expose the abomasum.
2.2.4 Pull the abomasum outward, incise the abomasum and its cut edge, secure it to the skin with sutures, then remove the fiber mass and part of the contents.
2.2.5 Clean the wound, perform a continuous inverting suture of the abomasum with catgut, apply a small amount of antibiotic ointment at the suture site, return the abomasum to the abdominal cavity, suture the peritoneum and transverse abdominal muscle together with silk thread, then use thicker silk thread for interrupted sutures of the rectus abdominis and transverse abdominal muscle, and finally close the skin with interrupted sutures. Inject 500 mL of glucose with 8 million IU of penicillin intravenously, inject 3 mL of Su Xing Ling, and after the deer wakes up, keep it in a single pen for observation and feeding.
2.2.6 For the first 2 days after surgery, withhold food and feed soy milk water; after 2 d, feed a small amount of concentrate and nutrient-rich succulent coarse feed. Return to normal after 1 week.
Pay attention to routine feeding: feed less coarse feed, especially that containing soybean stalks and stems, and ensure adequate drinking water. The earlier the surgery for this disease, the better the effect; otherwise pyloric necrosis is likely to occur, and the treatment effect is poor.